Asia - South China Morning Post

Thai authorities have seized assets worth 8.3 billion baht (US$260 million) belonging to people behind an alleged money-laundering network linked to transnational cyber scam operations in Cambodia.

The latest seizure by the Anti-Money Laundering Office included cash, cars, bank deposits and other securities, bringing the total value of assets confiscated in the widening probe to more than 20 billion baht, officials said at a briefing in Bangkok on Thursday.

The network of offenders included...

Japan is forging ahead with an investment plan that could see as much as 1 trillion yen (US$6.3 billion) pumped into its shipbuilding sector as it tries to wrest back greater control of a key strategic industry.

However, analysts said money alone would not be enough to restore Japan’s former standing in a sector now dominated by China, with higher costs, labour shortages and years of lost capacity all standing in the way.

The effort has taken on greater urgency as turmoil in the Middle East has...

The two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran is a real diplomatic breakthrough. It has reopened the Strait of Hormuz, triggered a relief rally in global markets and eased the immediate fear of a spiralling energy shock. But its strategic significance lies less in the relief it has produced than in the uncertainty it leaves behind.

The truce is time-limited, tied to negotiations and built around temporary safe passage rather than a settled regional order. The ceasefire terms and...

On April 7, less than two hours before US President Donald Trump’s declared deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz expired, a two-week ceasefire was announced after being floated by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The deal followed Iran’s delivery of a 10-point proposal to the United States through Pakistani mediators on April 6.

According to Iranian officials, Tehran’s acceptance came after a last-minute intervention by China. The breakthrough came seven days after China and...

A genocide complaint filed with Indonesian prosecutors against Myanmar’s newly elected President Min Aung Hlaing marks a further step by rights activists to hold the country’s military rulers accountable for their alleged international crimes, regardless of where they were committed.

The complaint, lodged on Monday with Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office (AGO), accuses the former military chief of genocide against the Rohingya, including mass rape, forced eviction, killings and arson attacks...

The US war on Iran has triggered the worst energy crisis in memory and punched a hole in Southeast Asia’s energy-importing economies. Still, a top former US diplomat insists America remains a dependable ally and will be central to the region’s trade and security for years to come.

The Trump administration’s attack on Iran had inflicted pain on Southeast Asian allies dependent on Middle Eastern energy imports, said Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink, a former assistant secretary of state for East...

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is expected to issue a written decision by April 28 on whether former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte will stand trial on charges of crimes against humanity over his war on drugs.

However, even if the judges decide to proceed with the trial, observers predict that the proceedings will progress at a “glacial pace”, potentially taking years to reach a ruling.

Duterte, who governed the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, was surrendered to the ICC in March...

China’s exports of energy storage equipment are expected to keep rising as the US-Israeli war in Iran renews global calls for energy independence, industry insiders and analysts said.

The total export value of Chinese inverters – key components in energy storage systems – jumped 57 per cent year on year to US$1.66 billion for the first two months of 2026, Chinese customs data showed. Inverters convert electricity generated from batteries and solar panels into usable power for homes, businesses...

North Korea’s recent string of weapons tests, including cluster munitions, marks a renewed show of military strength ahead of next month’s US-China summit, even as Beijing may become a go-between to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Analysts say the summit could be an opportunity for China to arrange subsequent talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.

On Thursday, Pyongyang said tests conducted over the previous two days involved a radar-evading missile...

The Philippine Coast Guard unveiled on Thursday its first dedicated command centre in the Spratly island chain, a flashpoint in the disputed South China Sea that has been the site of repeated confrontations with Chinese vessels.

The headquarters of a newly established coastguard district, formerly overseen from neighbouring Palawan, will cover an area of about 68,000 sq km (26,000 sq miles).

A journalist travelling to the new command centre on Thitu Island, known as Pagasa in the Philippines,...